After visiting several locations known to be red-light
districts, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through
its secretary for social development, Mrs Blessing Onuh, announced a
“total ban” on próstitution throughout the nation’s capital city.
A
48-hour ultimatum was issued for all women of easy virtue to vacate the
city and quit the job “because they constitute a nuisance in the city”.
She added a fatwa on their male patrons who ruined “some of the girls
[who] are under-aged”.
Other severe measures were lined up;
security agencies actually combed some of the red-light districts and
made several arrests. But rather than the scourge abating, it appears
undying like the proverbial phoenix.Próstitution in Abuja has
metamorphosed from the conventional sedentary practice in local brothels
to a sophisticated cartel of “runs babes” and the corporate realm.
The
“executive” type now holds in many luxury hotels in the Abuja
metropolis and the exquisite homes of the super-rich. Notorious spots
include Port Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Garki; Adetokunbo
Ademola Crescent and Sheraton Junction in Wuse II; and virtually all the
discotheques. Even in poor neighbourhoods like Nyanyan, Mararaba and
Gwagwa, little girls have joined the illicit trade.
They parade a
horde of half-unclad girls and women of various ages and sizes brazenly
exposing themselves, while openly and desperately beckoning on motorists
and passers-by to pick them for the night. They insult, poke rude jokes
and pour vituperation on those who look at them scornfully or ignore
them.Indeed, for Abuja’s affluent and powerful men, it has become
commonplace to place order for these women on the street or import them
from other states and even from far-flung countries in the Caribbean and
Asian countries.
High-society social, political functions are
incomplete without a harem of these shadowy women. The import of these
is that the upsurge requires a holistic framework to be able to deal
with this seemingly intractable scourge.
Although the focus is
typically on the females, no heteroséxual próstitutes exist without
willing male companions ready to pay the price for their services.
Blamed for the resurgence of this social vice are the lack of job
opportunities, the lack of education, and other socio-economic issues
such as low self-esteem or psychosis.
The flourishing religious
centres have provided no succour either. Since the menace is defying
these stereotypes – for example, a former minister once confessed that
our tertiary institutions were churning out more prostitutes than
career-ready graduates — education and religion must be tweaked towards
combating it. Parents, civil society and the traditional institutions
should embrace family values and expose those who flaunt illicit wealth
and inculcate the right ethos in the adolescents to discourage the evil
act.
Most importantly, the government should provide jobs,
encourage entrepreneurship and provide an enabling environment for the
realisation of opportunities and sense of self-worth. Our young
daughters and sisters must be discouraged from selling their bodies to
filthy and immoral men who have nothing but money, HIV/AIDS and other
venereal diseases to offer.
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/42402.html
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